Dr. Ranganathan Gopalakrishnan's research focuses on particle transport physics in gas-phase systems such as dusty plasmas, aerosol and plasma physics, dense aerosols, and powder flows. In this talk, details of ongoing research in dusty plasmas will be presented. Dusty Plasmas consist of ions, electrons, neutral gas molecules, and dust particles. The dust particles, typically submicron to several microns, acquire a high negative charge (~100 - 10,000 units of electric charge) and exhibit interesting collective dynamics. Current dusty plasma research projects holistically probe collisional transport processes from the molecular scale, single particle-level, and all the way up to mesoscopic dimensions where charged particles exhibit phase behavior. Optical particle tracking of grains coupled with Langevin Dynamics trajectory simulations are used to understand strong coupling and multi-body interactions between charged dust grains. Overarching goals of this research are to use dusty plasmas 1) as a model system to study the statistical mechanics of driven, non-equilibrium systems, and 2) to produce novel, metastable phases of materials at high throughput and in bulk scale. Dr. Gopalakrishnan is a recipient of the Department of Energy Early Career Award in 2020 to study strongly coupled dusty plasmas. If you are interested in this type of fundamental research, please be sure to approach Dr. Gopalakrishnan via email at rgplkrsh@memphis.edu. Current research is supported by ~$1.9 million from federal sources such as National Science Foundation, US Department of Energy, US Army Research Office, and we are looking to recruit one PhD student to start in Spring or Summer 2024.

Students are welcome to join Dr Gopalakrishnan to discuss his work and hear about potential research opportunities before the colloquium at 2:30 pm in Lewis Hall 104. Refreshments will be served before the colloquium begins.